Don't Give Up
by Raela
Summary: Based on the second movie. What if Mary Jane was the one to find the trashed Spidey costume instead of the homeless man?


DON'T GIVE UP

I do not own any Spider-Man characters. They belong to Marvel and Stan Lee.

Rated PG for the romance and angst in this story.

Mary Jane was preoccupied to say the least. Her mind kept running through with Peter, asking her to give him a second chance after he saw her play. She wasn't sure if she wanted to. Every time he seemed to open up, he always retreated back into that mysterious little corner where he doesn't let anyone in. And she was tired of that. But still… she loved him. And who knows? Maybe this time it was for real. Maybe he was ready to let her in.

She didn't notice at first, but she found herself venturing in a dark alley. At first, there was nothing abnormal about it; just some trash cans and stray animals looking for a bite to eat. Then she saw it. She blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't imagining things, but there it was. Spider-Man's costume sitting in the trash can, looking somewhat pathetic.

She walked up to the garbage can, her mouth opened. She couldn't believe it. What was Spider-Man's costume doing in the trash? And then she knew. 'Oh my God,' she thought. 'He quit.'

Desperately hunting for a bag to store it in, she found an old Bloomingdale's bag and quickly shoved the costume inside. 'No need for a stranger to find this,' she thought. But now what? She couldn't hold onto it forever. And there was no one she could talk to about this. Maybe John… but she didn't want word of this leaking to his father and besides he wouldn't understand the seriousness of the situation. He didn't know Spider-Man like she knew him.

Then one name came to her that would understand: Peter. He could help. Heck, he probably knew Spider-Man better than she did, maybe even knew who he was behind the mask. Yet, she wasn't ready to see him this soon. She was still sorting out their relationship with each other. On the other hand, as long as she kept the topic on Spider-Man, maybe they could avoid treading those dangerous waters.

Her decision made, she walked swiftly for Peter's apartment. It didn't take her long to reach it and she stepped inside the building. It wasn't much of a home, not compared to the apartment that he used to live in with Harry, but she thought it was better than the place that she used to live in when she was waiting tables.

Walking up the stairs, she stopped when she heard the shout, "Rent!" and a fat man came out from one of the rooms. He seemed startled to see her.

"Uh, hi," she said. "Is, um, Peter in?"

He gestured upstairs with his head and closed the door. Mary Jane stared at the closed door for a moment, then continued upstairs. Finding the apartment number, she knocked lightly.

"It's open!" came the answer.

MJ opened the door and stepped in. The room was small and messy, but that was all she acknowledged. She was staring at Peter, who was wearing a shocked look at her entrance.

"MJ," he said softly, then flew up from where he was sitting on the bed.

"Hi," she said. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Uh, no," he said sheepishly. "Just doing some homework." He shoved the papers and books aside to make room for her. "Have a seat."

MJ sat down, setting the bag on the floor. Peter noticed the bag. "Been out shopping?"

"No. Not really. Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about." She rummaged in the bag and pulled out Spider-Man's mask. Peter froze.

"Wh-Where did you get that?"

"I found it in a trash can in an alleyway. Peter, I think he quit. I was hoping you might know why."

"Well, actually, I'm, uh, as surprised as you are."

MJ's eyes narrowed. His statement sounded false. "Are you?"

"Okay, maybe not that surprised."

"Why?"

"I… I think that he quit because… of… the _Daily Bugle_. After all, Jameson keeps saying he's not a hero. Maybe he's had enough."

"Peter, Spider-Man's endured that for years. There's got to be more to it than that."

"Uh, well, it's the… only thing I can think of."

For a minute, they were both silent, each contemplating two different things. Peter was shocked that MJ, of all people, would find his costume. He tried to avoid her questions, but he knew of her persistence and it wouldn't be that easy. Mary Jane was still wondering about Spider-Man's reasons for quitting, but she was also thinking about Peter's discomfort. He looked like he didn't want to discuss this at all.

"You know what I think?" she said, startling him out of his thoughts. "I think he quit because he couldn't handle it anymore. I mean, he's goes around saving people's lives and gets very little gratitude for it. Maybe even puts his own life on hold to go help someone."

Peter smiled a little. Trust Mary Jane to get close to the truth without realizing it. "I think you're right, MJ."

"Maybe. But if that's so, then he shouldn't have to go through this alone. The city needs Spider-Man and he should know that." This she said pointedly at Peter.

'Does she know?' Peter thought, panicking. Then she continued, "Do you know where he is, Pete?"

"Huh?"

"Spider-Man. No offense, but no one has as much luck as you do without having some knowledge on where he might be. You have to know something."

"MJ…"

"Please, Peter. He needs help. He might not want to talk about it, but he should." She paused. "Tell me where he is."

Peter was speechless and he didn't know what to say. "I, uh… well, I, he-he told me, uh, made me swear n-not to tell anyone… where he is."

"But Peter…"

"Look, just tell me what you want to say and I'll relay the message."

Mary Jane sighed. "I suppose that's best. Okay. Tell him… tell him that he mustn't give up. A lot of people depend on him. Never mind what Mr. Jameson says. I know he's a good person. And I know I'm not the only one who believes that. I… I know I had feelings for him. Maybe I still do. But despite that, he's my friend. So if he wants to talk, he knows where to find me." She stood up and hands the bag to Peter who seems to be much affected by what MJ told him. "You'll see to it that Spider-Man gets this back, right?"

He nodded. As she began to walk out of the apartment, Peter said, "MJ, wait."

She turned, worried that Peter was going to bring up what they talked about before. But that was far from his mind. "He, uh, Spider-Man… he told me why he quit. He said he got frustrated. With everything." After hearing Mary Jane talk about Spider-Man like that, he wanted her to know why he quit. He wanted her to understand. "You see, he gets fired from jobs because he's late, people thinks he's lazy, and sometimes…" He paused and lowered his eyes. "Sometimes the ones he loves gets disappointed because he's not there for them."

Mary Jane's face registered concern. "That must not be easy for him. I mean, if those people knew that he was Spider-Man, I'm sure they would be more understanding."

"But that's just it. No one can know who he really is. If they knew, they would be in danger."

"Maybe so, but I think some people would consider it worth the risk. I would."

"You… would?"

"Yes. I would. I mean, Spider-Man is no different than a police officer or a fire fighter. There are women out there dating or married to those kinds of men and they are women who are willing to risk the dangers that come with being in love with such a person. In fact, love is a risk for all kinds of different people with different professions. There will always be a chance that they will lose the ones they love, but they accept the risk of being together instead of being apart. Because being apart… hurts a lot more than being together."

They were both quiet for a while, each deep in thought. Then Mary Jane said, "Peter, about what you said, you know, after you saw me in the play, you told me or at least insinuated that you wanted to, I don't know, get together or something. I… I just want to know something." He stared deeply in her eyes, curious and nervous. She took a deep breath. "Do you love me or not?"

Peter gulped. "I…"

"And before you answer, I want you to consider what I just said. If you are concerned that being together will put me in danger, then I am willing to take that risk. After all, you put yourself in danger all the time. How does that make me feel?"

Peter's eyes widened in panic. "You know?"

Mary Jane was confused. "What are you talking about? I was referring to your photography job. What do you mean…?" And then she knew. "Oh, my God."

"MJ…"

"Peter, tell me the truth. Are you… Spider-Man?"

Peter lowered his eyes, confirming her suspicions. When he looked at her once more, he noticed that the brief surprise on her face had vanished. "I always thought… there was this possibility of you being Spider-Man ever since I kissed you in the cemetery. It was so familiar that I thought you were… but then, I thought, 'No, it couldn't be,' but it was." And then she paused, remembering the costume she had brought with her. "Peter, did you quit… because of me?"

"No!" Mary Jane raised her eyebrows. "Okay, partly."

"Peter, I don't want you to quit because of me. The city needs Spider-Man. You have saved so many lives, me included. Peter, Spider-Man is a part of who you are. You can't deny that." She placed her hand on his cheek, the same way that she did back at the cemetery. "Peter, knowing that you're Spider-Man, has made me realize that I have fallen in love with both sides of you: One where you're heroic and witty, and the other where you're sweet and caring. If you deny Spider-Man, you deny one of the things that made me fall in love with you." Peter looked in her eyes. "Yes, Peter, I love you. Do you love me?"

He sighed. "More than anything."

She smiled brightly and Peter couldn't help but smile back. "Good. Because I am not going to let you go without a fight, Tiger. I want you to become Spider-Man again and I want to be your girlfriend."

"But what about your engagement?"

She sighed and shrugged. "I'll break it off. I'd really don't want to do that to John – he's a great guy, but he's not the one I'm in love with."

"Mary Jane, I hope you do realize the dangers…"

"Shut up and kiss me, Tiger."

Peter sighed and gave in. His lips groped for hers, savoring the touch and taste of her kisses. They pressed closer to each other, not stopping, until they separated for air.

"I love you, Mary Jane."

She smiled. "I love you too, Peter."

Fingering her hands, he said, "Listen, MJ, I know you want me to be Spider-Man again, and normally I'd be more than happy to oblige you…"

"But…?"

"I think my powers quit on me."

She blinked. "What?"

"My spider-powers. You know the ones that enable me to spin webs and such. I think I lost my powers. See?" He aimed at a wall and pressed his middle finger and right finger on his right hand. A neatly-thinned web line came shooting out.

"Really?" she said with amusement. "They seem to be working fine to me."

"But, I swear, MJ, it wasn't working before." He released the web line and allowed it to hang on the wall. "At first, it just happened every once in a while and then it quit on me all at once. I even went to a doctor. Uh, not to, uh, tell him about my spider powers, but just that I wasn't feeling well. He gave me a clean bill of health and told me it was all in my head."

"Well, maybe it was. After all, when you denied it, so did your body. And now that you accept your powers, again so did your body." Peter raised his eyebrows. She smiled. "I didn't sleep all the time in my high school psychology class."

Peter grinned and kissed her again. But before they could too deeply involve, the sound of sirens hollered in their ears. With a sigh, they reluctantly separated and Peter gave her an apologetic look. MJ merely smiled.

"Go get 'em, Tiger," she said.

Smiling back, Peter grabbed the costume out of the bag and changed in the bathroom. When he came out, minus the mask, he gave Mary Jane a quick good-bye kiss and slid the mask on. Shooting out a web line, he jumped out the window and was soon swinging toward the siren sounds. MJ watched him go, admiring his graceful figure as he soon disappeared from sight.

She sat on the bed, not in the mood to go home just yet. She would have to talk to John tomorrow and break up their relationship, but she knew that she was doing the right thing. She wasn't in love with John; it had always been Peter before she was even aware of him. There may be days when she would be frustrated at his constant leavings and she would always worry, but as she told Peter, she was willing to go through that just to be able to love him.

When Peter finally returned to his apartment, he found MJ sound asleep on his bed. He smiled and gently lifted her up. She snuggled closer to him, making Peter pleased at this reaction. He opened the covers of his blankets and laid MJ back down. Then, after changing into sweatpants and shirt, he snuggled under the covers next to her and promptly went to sleep.

THE END


End file.
